Energy & Regulated Utilities

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd represents regulated utility companies and renewable energy companies, providing advice, counsel and representation in regulatory, legislative, transactional and litigation matters.

Our clients benefit from the breadth and diversity of our industry practice, which involves nearly every aspect of the utility business, including commercial negotiation, right-of-way acquisition and condemnation, environmental and regulatory issues, encroachments, employment, securities, commercial contract and construction disputes and personal injury matters.

ENERGY & REGULATED UTILITIES EXPERIENCE:

• Litigated rate cases before the South Carolina Public Service Commission
• Assisted electric and gas utility clients in various condemnation matters in state and federal proceedings in both North and South Carolina 
• Represented utility clients in cases involving enforcement of utility right-of-way rights, including cases involving significant encroachments into transmission line rights-of-way 
• Represented electric utilities in matters involving the removal of unauthorized structures in reservoirs, enforcement of shoreline management guidelines, and personal injury actions related to the public’s use of reservoirs and surrounding lands
• Represent utilities in matters involving environmental areas, including Air and Water Pollution Control Equipment Certifications for nuclear power plants under the federal tax code, wastewater construction and discharge permits for natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plants, remediation of power plant coal ash, environmental enforcement actions and litigation involving environmental contamination claims
• Represented electric utilities and their contractors in a wide array of wrongful death and personal injury actions, including electric contact cases
• Represented several public and private entities in the renewable energy sector regarding the constitutionality of the South Carolina Renewable Energy Infrastructure Development Fund
• Coordinated and executed root cause evaluations in the nuclear power industry
• Represented an electric utility in a proposed multi-state class action case in which the named plaintiffs asserted claims against the utility for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, negligent supervision and gross negligence related to the installation, interconnection, inspection and metering of residential solar panel units 
• Represented a regulated electric utility in its assertion of a multi-million dollar claim against a contractor who was responsible for the presence of foreign material in a steam turbine in one of its nuclear electric generation facilities that caused significant damage and a forced maintenance outage of the reactor
• Defended a regulated electric utility against claims made by a contractor concerning the construction of certain security facilities constructed at one of its nuclear generation facilities 
• Represented an electric utility in a pair of multi-million dollar recoveries in commercial arbitrations arising from suppliers’ breaches of contracts to supply energy commodities 
• Served as bond counsel for several billion dollars of public power utility revenue bonds for the South Carolina Public Service Authority